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LOOK WHAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION DID FOR ROME |
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Written by Jim Warner
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Thursday, 24 May 2007 |
Many
believe that illegal immigration is reaching such levels that it threatens our
national security, and perhaps even our national survival. Others believe that we should give legal
status to those who already illegally in our country.
We have already done this once, in 1986, and the result was
that millions more, seeing that there was hope for eventual legal status, came
here illegally, hoping for amnesty. We
now have two and one half times more illegals in the country than we did in
1986.
If we continue to do this eventually we will reach a point,
if we haven't already, where there are so many aliens in the country that they
will not adopt our culture, they will not learn our customs, and they will never
become Americans.
It has happened before.
Just ask the Romans.
Around the middle of 4th
century AD, conditions outside the boundaries of the Roman Empire began to
develop which caused increasing numbers of people who were not subjects of Rome
to desire entry into the Empire.
In 376, a tribe called the
Visigoths living in Dacia (modern-day Romania) petitioned for permission to
move south of the Danube River and settle in the Empire.
Just as there are many here
who believe that both sides benefit from the employment of the illegal
immigrants, there were actually those in Rome who thought there was some
benefit to allowing the barbarians to come in.
No one took account of the law of unexpected
consequences. Despite their agreement
to do so, the Visigoths did not
disarm. Because they were armed and the
Roman legions were away at the frontiers trying to keep out more barbarians, the Visigoths found they were free to begin looting and plundering.
The Visigoths were not alone. Other barbarians, learning of the happy times the Visigoths were
having, decided that they, too, would like to participate. The hordes continued to trickle in. Finally, in 407, the Rhine River froze over
and thousands of Germanic tribesmen crossed the ice and poured into Gaul.
This drew so many legions away from the defense of Rome that
Alaric (370-410), the Visigoth King, was able to sack the Eternal City itself.
This disaster prompted the legions to withdraw from Roman
Britain , never to return. Britain,
without the forces of law and order, descended into chaos. France and Spain, after a period of turmoil,
became Germanic kingdoms only nominally allied with Rome.
The barbarians entered the Roman Empire in order to seek
better lives. The Romans thought their
economy would benefit from having the Visigoths settle on farms. Aren't we being told that our illegals are
doing jobs that Americans won't do and that our economy would suffer without
low-cost labor?
The Romans changed their laws to give the Visigoths legal
status. Once the Visigoths had legal
status, Ostrogoths, Alans, Burgundians, and Suevi wanted to enter the Empire
and gain legal status also.
Compare this with amnesty granted to illegals by the
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986.
Immediately after passage of IRCA, approximately 2.7 million
illegal immigrants received green cards.
Over the next 11 years another 1.3 million illegal immigrants were given
green cards.
An unintended consequence of IRCA was the fact that by the
end of 1996 there were already another 5 million illegal immigrants here. They included many relatives of the of the 4
million who had been granted amnesty.
It is estimated that there are between 12 and 20 million
illegal aliens in the United States.
Under proposals being considered by Congress, almost all of these
will be given the opportunity to gain legal status and eventual
citizenship.
According to the Heritage
Foundation, over the next 20 years perhaps as many as 50 million immigrants
could gain legal status. These
immigrants too will have relatives who will want to come to the United States
and, just as before, many of these will come illegally.
Thus, if these proposals are enacted into law, we can expect
an unimaginable influx of illegal aliens.
What effect will this have on the laws, the culture and the political
structure of the United States?
The influx of the Germanic tribes after 408 overwhelmed
Roman law, smothered Roman culture, and caused the legions, for the most part,
to be withdrawn to Italy.
We are already at a point where there are so many illegal
aliens in the United States that many feel no need to learn English or
otherwise assimilate. However, if they
are given legal status, they will become voters. In fact, some believe that a number of illegal aliens already
vote in US elections.
What will happen if so large a group of unassimilated alien
voters remains within our borders?
One hint as to what it might be like can be seen in France
where there are housing developments into which law enforcement rarely, if
ever, ventures. That is to say, there
are parts of France which are no longer governed by French law. Is this our future?
We are at a crisis point.
Either effective action has to be taken now or we face disaster. Rational people recognize that the first
step is to gain control of our borders.
Next we must do something about the 10 to 12 million illegal aliens who
are in the country.
Immigration advocates point out it would be logistically
impossible to deport this many aliens.
However, these people are here to work.
If existing laws against the employment of illegal aliens were enforced,
the magnet of employment would disappear.
Without the prospect of work many or most of the illegals would deport
themselves.
The presence of millions of people who have no regard for
our culture, who speak little English, and whose loyalties lie elsewhere is not
a recipe for a healthy country. The
prospect of taking action to legalize millions of immigrants and attract tens
of millions more illegal aliens is a recipe for national suicide.
If that seems far fetched, remember, the Romans thought it
was safe to legalize hordes of immigrants.
Look what it did for Rome.
James H. Warner is a retired attorney, He served in the White House as a domestic
policy advisor to President Ronald Reagan.
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